September 2008 Additives for Polymers7

plastics sector had become limited since the company divested its polyolefin production in 2005.

According to Addcomp marketing & sales director Paul Stassen, the change of ownership is a ‘win-win situation’ for everyone involved. All Priex customers will benefit from access to a far-greater supply and expanding portfolio of these products, he says. In addition, high demand for the product line means that Addcomp is investing in additional capacity that will debottleneck production and triple global capac-ity. The manufacturing of Priex coupling agents is also included in Addcomp’s ISO/TS 16949:2002 certifica-tion. Addcomp says it is the world’s only coupling-agent producer to hold this quality certification.

Following the completion of the acquisition at the end of March, the Priex production line was moved from Solvay’s operation in Brussels to Addcomp’s Nijverdal plant and set up with the assistance of Solvay’s engineers. Manufacture started in May – producing ‘perfect product’ from the first run, according to Addcomp – and the company began offering Priex products for sale in June.

Founded in 1997, Addcomp Holland produces one-pack additive systems for use in polyolefins, PS, PET and polyamides. It supplies both polymer man-ufacturers and plastics processors.

Contact:Addcomp Holland BV, Nijverdal, The Netherlands. Tel: +31 548 620 403, Web: www.addcomp.nl/priexOr contact: Solvay SA, Brussels, Belgium. Tel: +32 2 5096111, Web: www.solvay.com

Rockwood Holdings acquires Holliday Pigments

Holliday Pigments, the manufacturer of techni-cal grade ultramarine blue and manganese

violet pigments, is to be sold by its UK-based par-ent Yule Catto to Rockwood Holdings of the USA for a sum of about �46 million. The transaction is subject to regulatory clearances and is expected to be completed during the third quarter.

Holliday manufactures inorganic ultramarine pig-ments for a wide range of applications, including plastics. Established more than 120 years ago in Kingston-upon-

Hull, UK, Holliday’s factory there was closed last year and production was consolidated at its Comines facility in France [ADPO, August 2007]. When the transaction is completed, the business, including the manufacturing and R&D headquarters in Comines, will become part of Rockwood Color Pigments, which has manufacturing sites in the USA, Germany, Italy, China and Matlock in the UK. Glyn Jagger will continue as the company’s MD following the takeover. In 2007, Holliday posted an EBITDA of �6.0 million and sales of �34.7 million.

According to chairman and CEO Seifi Ghasemi, the addition of Holliday Pigments is an excellent fit for Rockwood. ‘It is a business with strong technical leadership and excellent growth prospects in diverse markets. This is an excellent bolt-on acquisition for Rockwood and an important addition to the Rockwood Color Pigments product line’, he says.

Contact:Rockwood Holdings Inc, Princeton, NJ, USA. Tel: +1 609 514 0300, Web: www.rocksp.comOr contact: Holliday Pigments SA, Comines, Cedex, France. Tel: +33 3 20 63 12 00, Web: www.holliday-pigments.com

Lanxess makes pigment acquisition in China

German speciality chemicals company Lanxess AG is expanding the Asian busi-

ness of its Inorganic Pigments business unit with the acquisition of two iron oxide pigment production units in Jinshan near Shanghai. The transaction is Lanxess’ first acquisition in China.

Lanxess is purchasing the two units, one of which it had leased since 2007, from its previous cooperation partner Jinzhuo Chemicals Co Ltd. Financial details of the transaction have not been undisclosed. As a result of the acquisition the company’s global production capacity for inorganic pigments will increase by 5%.

The Jinshan site is the most modern iron oxide pig-ment facility in China and also one of the country’s largest, Lanxess says. It started producing iron oxide yellow pigments in 2007 and has a total capacity of 30 000 tonnes/year. Half of this capacity was already utilized by Lanxess. The facility uses state-of-the-art and environmentally compatible production methods.

STRATEGIES

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